Top 11 Tools For Graphic Designer

Brands of all types and sizes need a graphic designer who can translate their thoughts & textual context to visual content.

Fact Check: According to a recent survey, more than 80% of digital marketers use visual media when creating social media marketing solutions. This is because visual assets used in social media posts bring in 650% higher engagement than those created using plain text. Source: https://financesonline.com/

As a freelance graphic designer, you need to be well-equipped with the right tools to help you get the job done. While there is a wide range of software and hardware options available, not all of them will be ideal for your specific needs.

To sort out this confusion, we’ve put together a list of graphic design tools that every freelance graphic designer should collate in their arsenal.

1. Illustrator

For a beginner or seasoned designer, Adobe Illustrator is a great option. It has a range of capabilities that might assist you in creating excellent designs. And while there are a lot of different tools out there that can be useful for graphic designers, there are some that are absolutely essential. One of those essential tools is Adobe Illustrator.

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Adobe Illustrator is a vector drawing programme that allows you to create illustrations, logos, and other graphics. It’s an incredibly powerful tool that gives you a lot of control over the look and feel of your designs. And if you’re serious about freelance graphic design, then you need to be proficient in Illustrator.

There are a lot of different things that you can do with Adobe Illustrator, but here are just a few of the reasons why it’s so essential for freelance graphic designers:

1. You can create any kind of graphic imaginable.
2. Vector graphics scale up and down without losing quality, which is ideal for creating logos and other branding collateral.
3. The software is relatively easy to learn and use, especially compared to other vector drawing programmes out there.
4. There are tonnes of online resources and tutorials available to help you master Illustrator.

If you’re not already using Adobe Illustrator as part of your freelance graphic design workflow, then now is the time to start. It’s an essential tool that will help you take your designs to the next level.

2. Adobe Photoshop

Millions of artists utilize Adobe Photoshop, which is undoubtedly the most well-liked graphic design tool on the planet. This top graphic design tool may help you make banners, posters, websites, or logos, among other things. Adobe Photoshop includes capabilities for every level, from minor adjustments to complex projects. You can even draw or paint anything you want if you specialize in illustrative designs. Moreover, check out this adobe photoshop fun facts.

With this software, you can do lifelike artwork and composition in addition to image editing. You can set the dimensions of your canvas, separate objects from their surroundings, make unique brushes, operate in three dimensions, and do a lot more.

3. Canva

Canva is a user-friendly online platform that enables you to create high-quality visuals for your clients. With over 1 million templates and tools available, it’s easy to find what you need to create professional designs. Plus, with its drag-and-drop interface, you can quickly and easily create custom designs.

Canva is the best option for simple graphic materials. You can use the existing layouts and logos that they have. Additionally, you can alter existing layouts to your comfort. They work well for brochures, periodicals, and social media posts. They provide a free version with fewer features and designs; if you want more, you may choose to purchase their premium choices.

If you want to quickly produce brilliant and amazing digital agency services, Canva is a must-have graphic design tool.

4. InDesign

As a freelance graphic designer, one of the most important tools you can have in your arsenal is a good design tool. For many designers, that program is InDesign. InDesign is a powerful desktop publishing program that can be used for everything from creating simple flyers to designing complex magazines.

If you’re new to InDesign, there’s a bit of a learning curve. But once you get the hang of it, it’s an incredibly powerful tool that can help you create professional-looking designs. Here are just a few things you can do with InDesign:

-Create layouts for print or digital publications

-Design marketing materials like flyers, brochures, and business cards.

-Develop web or app prototypes

-Create illustrations and graphics

In short, if you’re looking to up your design game, InDesign is definitely worth checking out.

5. Designhill Logo Maker

Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Designhill logo maker is an intelligent and user-friendly software developed keeping the novices as well as pro designers in mind. Creating a professional logo for your business takes just a few minutes. 

There are AI image enhancer, generators that allows you to create something new, unique and creative on graphics. Whether you aren’t a designer looking for a DIY logo creator online for your logo design, or a pro-designer looking for some design inspiration, this tool is for you. It doesn’t charge you to create a logo unless you download the design.

Designhill logo generator comes with an in-built library of logo design templates, created by some of the world’s talented logo designers. An interactive interface and a massive library of icons, fonts, colors, etc., make it one of the most preferred online logo maker tools for people across the globe.

Pick a template closest to your business needs and start customizing with the choice of your fonts, icons, colors, layout, etc.

6. Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor developed by UK-based Serif Labs as a substitute for Adobe Illustrator.

Affinity Designer features a cutting-edge, simple user interface that makes switching between it and Illustrator easy for both inexperienced designers and seasoned professionals. All the tools they need are readily available and are grouped clearly for aspiring designers.

All the necessary pen and shape tools are included in Affinity Designer to finish intricate vector and pixel-based artwork. Users can transition between tool sets without disrupting their productivity using the persona toolbar, which separates vector, pixel, and export tools into three different groups.

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Affinity Designer is a remarkable, cost-effective replacement for Adobe Illustrator in terms of both function and aesthetics. It is sufficiently easy for beginners to use as a learning tool but strong enough for independent graphic designers on a budget.

7. Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is a low-cost alternative to Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator for image touch-ups. It works with both vector and raster graphics to produce beautiful effects using layers and filters. Similar to CorelDRAW, the program supports the SVG file format. Although you can make your own templates, the application doesn’t come with any. It is lightweight, though, and offers a lengthy 90-day free trial.

Because of its effectiveness and adaptability, Affinity Photo has won numerous awards in recent years. For the cost, it offers a lot of features. With its panoramic stitching, HDR merges, and 360-degree image editing, you can perform complex editing. With no bloat, it offers real-time editing. PSD files can also be used for editing. For the height of creativity, it also offers non-destructive live filter layers.

8. Inkscape

As a freelance graphic designer, it is important to have a tool that will allow you to create vector graphics. Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as creating illustrations, logos, and diagrams.

Inkscape has a wide variety of features that make it a valuable tool for any graphic designer. For example, Inkscape supports a variety of file formats, so you can easily import and export your work. In addition, Inkscape offers a wide range of brushes and pens to give you the ability to create precise or artistic designs.

If you’re looking for a vector graphics editor that is both powerful and easy to use, then Inkscape is an excellent choice.

Check out the amazing journey of how designer Gyan Lakhwani became a UX designer at Microsoft.

9. Procreate 

Procreate markets itself as a full-featured art studio designed just for the iPad and Apple Pencil. There is no free trial or version available; it is a one-time purchase. You immediately start using its enormous selection of templates, typefaces, and movable brushes. Additionally, you can import your own Photoshop images into the app, which will run faster thanks to the Valkyrie engine. Its creators went over and beyond to make it user-friendly.

Its capacity to operate in 3D and preview it in AR in real-time is one of its unique qualities. Procreate is a great place to start if you’ve been wanting to experiment with animation. However, the program contains so many features and options that new users could find it confusing. There are numerous brush options available if you choose one type. Every time you use it, you’ll pick up something new.

10. Crello

A user-friendly graphic design tool called Crello may assist you in creating polished social media posts, marketing, and advertising materials, website graphics, videos, and animations.

It has a drag-and-drop interface that makes creating web design content simple.

You can also readily find the resize canvas option on their design dashboard, which can help you quickly develop visuals for a variety of channels.

Like the majority of other graphic design tools, Crello has a free edition with a tonne of templates that may be used to create simple designs.

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11. Figma

For free graphic design software, Figma has a tonne of functionality. The free limitless cloud storage that comes with the free version is among the most remarkable. With a wide variety of tools, vector graphics are where it really shines. To receive private assignments that are invite-only, you must subscribe to the professional plan. If not, you can collaborate by sending a link.

Businesses have a lot of customization options with Figma to webflow, especially at the organizational level. You have the ability to develop and manage private plugins. It is an inexpensive plan in comparison.

Select a relevant graphic design tool as per your requirement

The finest graphic design software includes anything from free, open-source web-based options to comprehensive image editing packages with high learning curves that are ideal for pros — and everything in between.

Start by thinking about your existing requirements and the features you expect as your business and skill set expand when you choose which software to use. A lot of software is pricey, especially subscription-based programmes. With these programs, you pay for what you need to get the best deal.

Businesses that want to collaborate effectively with their customers should leverage features like real-time collaboration, version history, and master page configurations. The majority of the platforms on our list offer the fundamental features of design tools, such as image editing, resizing, gradients, and overlays.